


the things you notice

by ElphabaInTheTARDIS, freloux



Category: Edgar Allan Poe's Murder Mystery Dinner Party (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Meet-Cute, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-23
Updated: 2020-01-23
Packaged: 2021-02-27 18:00:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22347604
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElphabaInTheTARDIS/pseuds/ElphabaInTheTARDIS, https://archiveofourown.org/users/freloux/pseuds/freloux
Summary: In her defense, it wasn’t like Lenore had tried to end up in a bookshop.
Relationships: Lenore/HG Wells
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	the things you notice

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the super adorable song of the same name by Marnie Stern: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=onBUKPlTLhk

In her defense, it wasn’t like Lenore had _tried_ to end up in a bookshop.

Bookshops were so not her scene. Too many pages and too much time wasted when you could be spending your time doing so many more important things. Things like gossiping or shopping or really doing _anything_ other than what her nerdy brother wanted to do.

Edgar. Edgar would never let her hear the end of this. 

Lenore had been looking for the perfect building to take a picture next to so she could show off her newest fashion accessory (a pair of raven earrings, if anyone was concerned), and the gothic looking church building seemed _perfect_. How was she to predict that in the (several) minutes it took her to get the exact perfect angle for the photo that the sky would open up and rain upon her.

(She had thought the clouds were providing such wonderful lighting, too.)

And now she was stuck inside the building which turned out NOT to be a church, but a bookstore. 

Who even puts a bookstore in a church? Super misleading.

But she had to admit the place had a certain...vibe. She wasn’t sure what it was, exactly. Not goth - or at least, not goth in the way Edgar always annoyingly was. No, more old fashioned and classy. Lenore had to admit that the more she looked around the more she was actually kind of into it. Vintage, that’s the word. It totally fit the thunderstorm outside somehow and made the bookstore feel really cozy.

She drifted aimlessly through the maze of bookshelves. The majority of the books were super, super old. A lot of their spines were even rubbed off and looked broken. Tragic. Was the owner of this place even taking care of them?

Speaking of. Where was the owner? The only noise was the rain outside - coming down even harder now - and Lenore’s own footsteps.

“Hello?” Lenore called out as she stopped to wring out her hair.

“Hello? Yes?” A voice returned her call but it seemed even farther into the maze that was this bookshop.

“Yeah um…” Lenore looked down at the puddle slowly forming on the floor from her dripping hair. As much as she really wasn’t a book person she really didn’t want to invoke the wrath of having destroyed them with water. “Do you maybe have like...a towel or anything?” 

“A what?” the voice asked, this time closer.

“A towel. Unless you don’t mind water everywhere around these like...supes old books and stuff. Totally tragic to have them ruined and stuff.” 

(Edgar would most certainly kill her if he learned that she had ruined books of all things.)

“A towel?” A man popped out from behind the bookshelf behind her, causing Lenore to turn and for water to drip more as she did. The man seemed just as shocked to see Lenore in his bookshop as Lenore was to be IN the bookshop in the first place. “Yes um...just...just a moment.” The man disappeared again and then reappeared a moment later with a small hand towel. “It’s...well it’s the best I have but um, if you’ll just follow me...away from the books that is...I can maybe see if I have something else.” 

Lenore followed and took a moment to take the man in. He was not what she expected. Not that she knew what to expect from a person running a bookshop that is. She had assumed they were all like her brother. Brooding. Nerdy. And unable to hold a conversation with anyone for longer than a few seconds.

This man seemed different. Quiet, confident, but also still unsure of himself at the same time. 

And definitely attractive.

See, Lenore always thought she had a type. There had been Guy after all: the definition of suave with a jaw so square it deserved to be carved in marble or something. This dude was the complete opposite. To start with, his fashion sense was...interesting. He wore a little vest thing with a legit cravat and neatly ironed trousers. It was both old-fashioned and hipster at the same time but in a way that surprisingly worked.

Lenore knew herself enough to know that if she stared any longer she’d a) come across as rude, and b) that she’d get carried away with a number of distracting thoughts. Besides, the man was waiting expectantly for her to follow him.

“So, uh, what’s your name?” Lenore said. Then she mentally kicked herself for sounding so totally awkward. She was never awkward. That was Edgar’s job. What was going on with her?

“Oh, it’s HG. And no, I’m not going to tell you what it stands for.” HG grinned at Lenore. It made his whole face lit up. Jeez, she liked his smile.

“I’m Lenore,” Lenore said and held out her hand for HG to shake. Hm, his hands were very warm. It was a nice contrast to how cold and icky the weather was outside.

HG gave her the towel and Lenore started fluffing out her hair as she followed him. He chatted on about all the different books as though she wasn’t there. Lenore realized that he probably didn’t get a lot of visitors. Too bad. Somehow she could see herself coming back already even though she’d only been in here for what, ten minutes?

“So like...do you own this place or something?” Lenore cringed at her awkward attempt at small talk. 

“Oh! Um...well I suppose I do. It was...well, it was empty you see. And I’ve always wanted a bookshop of my own, you know. It just seemed...right. Somehow.” HG glanced around the still-empty shop. “I just wish more people would come in…”

“I mean, maybe making it look more like a bookshop and less like a total goth hangout would help?” Lenore smirked at him. “I mean, not that I can blame the aesthetic in here because it is so totally me...but like if you want people to actually come here to shop for books, you might want people to know it’s a bookshop or something.”

“You’re not a book person?” HG gave her a look as if he wanted to challenge her.

“I mean...not really. I don’t like...hate books or anything. But I guess I just haven’t found ‘the one’ that really speaks to me I guess. Like all those old authors are so boring and stuff. And a lot of them are crusty white men so, like, no thanks. Who has time for that when real life is so much more fun?” Lenore shrugged her shoulders. “I guess I just don’t think they’re worth it.”

She hadn’t even finished the last sentence before HG had rushed past her down one of the aisles of the shop. She spun around to follow him, but then remembered that she was sopping wet and he probably would not want more water around the books. 

Before she could call out to ask him what the deal was, he was back, and he handed her a book.

“Read that, and then come back and tell me that books are boring.” 

Lenore looked from the book back to the man and saw that his eyes were sparkling with a challenge. At least she hadn’t pissed the guy off. Good. That would have been a horrible first impression. 

“I...um. Let me find my wallet so I can…”

HG cut her off before she could finish. “Let’s just say it’s on the house, shall we? Insurance that you’ll come back and give me an honest review?”

Lenore stared for a moment, slightly dumbfounded. And then she was interrupted by her phone ringing. She frantically dug through her purse to pull it out and silence the offending device, but by the time she had done that, HG had just...disappeared.

Well not really. Apparently other customers had entered the shop and he was doing his job. Or something. 

Lenore took that as her cue to leave, but not before stealing a last glance at HG as he helped a young couple who had just entered. He must have felt her gaze because he looked back at her and smiled and gave a small wave. Lenore found herself waiving back and then rushing out the door.

She had a reputation to maintain, after all. One that wasn’t about to be ruined by a cute dude in a bookshop.

Her phone started ringing again and she groaned and pulled it out. Annabel. Who would ask her why she didn’t answer the first time since everyone knew Lenore was attached to her phone. She took a deep breath and answered.

“Hi Annababe…”

***

Lenore wasn’t sure she should blab to Annabel about what happened. She knew that Annabel could give pretty decent guy advice (although often it was the other way around). Well, decent advice when she wasn’t attached to Edgar, that is.

That was another reason why Lenore was hesitant to gossip about Cute Bookshop Guy (she wasn’t about to name names - for some reason she felt protective of HG and their meeting). Annabel was certain to tell Edgar everything and then Lenore would never hear the end of it.

Decisions, decisions.

So instead she and Annabel had a very meandering and slightly awkward conversation that ended when Lenore came up with a lame excuse about losing reception.

After that Lenore decided to go ahead and start the book that HG had given her. The rain had cleared up by now so Lenore snapped a few selfies (those earrings simply had to be documented) and headed over to the park nearby. She found a bench that was protected by the trees so it was reasonably dry.

The cover actually seemed new - pristine, even. It looked like something that HG had taken very good care of so he must like it a lot. No pressure, Lenore thought to herself ruefully. She glanced around furtively to ensure that no one caught her reading something that was not a magazine. Then she opened the book, smoothed out the pages, and lost herself in the story.

In fact, she lost herself so much that she didn’t even realize how much time had passed until her phone began ringing again. The noise jolted her out of the story like a bolt of lightning. She grabbed for the phone to turn it off and then saw two things:

Oscar was calling  
It was well past the time she had agreed to meet him for drinks

Cursing to herself Lenore answered the call. In typical Oscar fashion, he was already talking a mile a minute by the time she had the phone up to her ear.

“...been waiting here for 20 minutes, Lenore and you know I appreciate a good late entrance as much as anyone else but I am absolutely starving and you are never more than 10 minutes late because of your schedule or whatever and I swear if you are in a ditch somewhere I will find you and I will kill you and--”

“Geez, Oscar. Can’t a girl just lose track of time without it being the end of the world?” Lenore tried to sound her usual flippant self, but even she could hear the guilty tone in her voice.

“You? With your phone and your schedule that literally has time on it for selfies? You don’t lose track of anything, my dear. Unless...oh my god you’re with a man aren’t you and I am here interrupting some good canoodling time. Oh my goodness I cannot believe. Tell the man that I am so sorry and that you can go back to whatever you were doing but remember, dear, that if he pushes you too far that your friend here will--”

“OSCAR.” Lenore sighed. “I am not with anyone. And also like...who even uses the word ‘canoodling’ anymore. That’s like. So old-fashioned. And totally lame.”

“Whatever darling, you just hate my sense of style.” There was a pause and then “Well if you’re not with a man, and you’re not with Annabel since I already checked...whatever ARE you doing that is more important than drinks with yours truly?”

Lenore cringed. “Um...I was...um...reading?”

Silence greeted her response. A pause so long that Lenore had to check to make sure the call hadn’t dropped. 

“Um...Oscar?”

“Since when do you, Lenore Poe, read?” She could hear Oscar trying not to laugh.

“Since...since like. Forever? I love reading. I’ve always loved reading!” 

“Uh huh. Miss Queen of Sparknotes and copying from me in school has suddenly decided she likes to read something that isn’t the latest gossip magazine? Puh-lease. This has to do with a man, doesn’t it?”

“No. I swear. I was reading and I lost track of time. I can be there in like...10 minutes, promise.” Lenore was already throwing things in her purse. If she left now while still arguing on the phone she could actually make it in less.

“Well then what are you reading if you’re so insistent that you’re actually doing that?”

Lenore grabbed the book from her bed and read the title out loud “Around The World in 80 Days by...Jules Verne?”

There was another long pause.

“Oscar?”

“Since when does Lenore Poe read classic literature?”

Lenore rolled her eyes. “Since today. Can we drop this? I am literally walking out the door now.”

(That was a lie. She was still looking for her keys from wherever she’d thrown them when she got home.)

“Oh please, dear, I know you haven’t. Your keys are in the dish by your door, by the way. And don’t think you can deflect that easily. I know you didn’t buy that book. Where on earth did you get it? Did you steal it from Edgar? You actually had a conversation with Edgar about literature? Oh this I have got to hear.” Oscar was laughing at her. Again.

“No. Not Edgar. Do you think I have an actual death wish? I’d still be stuck listening to him drone on if it was him. No um...I...it was a gift.”

“From a _maaaaaaan_?” 

Lenore made a mental note to smack Oscar on the head once she got to the restaurant.

***

He was waiting for her at the end of the bar, Lenore’s favorite drink already in front of him. Oscar was wearing a truly impressive purple jacket with some sort of animal pattern. In the dim light Lenore couldn’t quite tell what it was. He was also wearing the most devious smile Lenore had ever seen. It only grew wider as Lenore approached.

“Sit, sit. I _must know _everything_ ,” Oscar said. “How is the book?”_

__

__

“It’s fine. It’s just a book. Can we please drop this?” Lenore grabbed at the drink only to have Oscar pull it away from her.

“Uh-uh. You are telling me something before I let you have this.”

Lenore sighed and opened her purse. “Fine. Here. I brought it with me. It’s a book. There’s your proof. Can I please have my drink now.” 

(It wasn’t a question. She would get her drink.)

The distraction of a book landing in front of him was enough for Oscar to let go of the drink which Lenore moved towards her, ignoring the smirk Oscar was now giving her.

“Oh my dear, you really are smitten with this man, aren’t you.” Oscar had begun to thumb through the book mindlessly. 

“I am not _smitten_ and who uses that word anyway? It’s like...totally lame.” Lenore took a sip of her drink. “Speaking of lame, I meant to tell you about how Edgar is planning this super lame sounding party and something about it being a literary-themed mystery thing and it sounds supes boring but like Annabel called me today and she is dragging me and I am SO not dealing with Edgar at a party like that on my own so I wanted to see..”

“Ah ha!” Oscar exclaimed, pulling a small slip of paper from the book, interrupting Lenore’s (brief) attempt at changing the subject. “Hmmm…’Call me when you’ve finished and let me know what you think.’ OH! It’s signed by an H.G ...and he left a phone number!” Oscar had begun shouting and waving the paper above his head in glee.

“Oscar! Stop it!” Lenore hissed. “People are staring at us!”

“Well let them stare, darling, they should see what it looks like to see a woman who is completely smitten with a maaaaaan who leaves his phone number in a book for her!”

Lenore would be annoyed with Oscar’s theatrics but she’s known him for long enough that she can set that aside. (Sometimes.) At the moment, though, she was a little miffed that Oscar found H.G.’s note before she could.

“Ooh, shall we call him?” Oscar asked in a tone usually reserved for sleepovers where someone suggests prank calling a crush.

Lenore felt like sinking into the floor. She was blushing so fiercely that she was sure it could probably heat the bar on its own.

“No we most definitely should NOT.” She grabbed at the paper, which Oscar pulled ever-so-slightly out of her reach.

“Now my dearrrrr” he drawled, “you must think about this! A strange maaaaan leaving notes in a book for you? Whatever will people think?”

Lenore briefly considered dumping Oscar’s drink on him. “I’ll call him LATER. When I’m not at a bar of all places. Now can we please talk about something else?”

Oscar waggled his eyebrows at Lenore again, but handed over the piece of paper. Lenore sighed and returned it to her purse. Oscar might be annoying but he was also a good friend and knew when to back off. He quickly changed the subject to a new book idea he was thinking about. He was also going to get together for brunch with a woman named George. Then, of course, there was the endless will they or won’t they drama between Edgar and Annabelle. Lenore soon found herself forgetting about H.G. She definitely didn’t want any drama of her own.

***

Back at her apartment, however, it was all she could think about. Lenore paced back and forth, back and forth, a strange little humming in her heart. She tried to reason with herself. _I mean, I’ve only met the guy_ once. Yet there was an undeniable connection there. He’d smiled at her with a knowing look as if he recognized that spark when she wasn’t able to, at least not at first.

Lenore looked at the number scrawled on that little scrap of paper. _Smooth move_ , Lenore thought with a little smirk. That’s something she’d pulled with Guy way back when. Thank God _that_ was over. Lenore knew all the flirty tricks in the book but H.G. was making her feel unsteady in the most thrilling way.

She finally took a deep breath and keyed in the numbers on her phone. It rang and rang and rang. Lenore was about to give up hope when H.G.’s voice came through, tinny and far away.

“Hello?”

“Hi...um...H.G?” Lenore cringed at the sound of her own voice. Usually she was so confident and sure of herself...but when it came to H.G. she just...couldn’t.

“Um...yes? Who exactly is calling?”

Lenore smacked her hand against her head. Of course he didn’t know it was her. It wasn’t like she had given him her phone number or anything. 

“Right. Um...It’s Lenore...you know...from the bookshop. I um...I found your note.”

“Lenore!” His voice sounded so delighted. Lenore was fairly certain she was going to melt into a puddle. “You did find it after all then. I was a bit worried you wouldn’t...and then I was worried that it was far too forward. And then I worried that you wouldn’t like the book and then..”

Lenore started giggling. “Dude, like...chill. I found your note. Well...a friend found the note but that is so not the point. The point is I’m calling you because you left me a note and I am enjoying the book, so it’s like...totally cool and stuff.”

“Oh.” There was a beat of silence on the other end of the phone. “So um...you really do like it then?”

“Yes, you nerd. I like your book...what I’ve read so far at least. I haven’t exactly finished it yet buuuuuuut...I found your note and I just had to call you.” _Or else Oscar was going to call you first…_

Lenore let the rest of that thought remain unsaid. The last thing she needed was to explain the weirdness of her friends to a new person and scare them off before she had a chance to really make things work.

“Well then I think you should finish it and then we should maybe...get together and talk about it?” H.G’s voice sounded so...scared and hopeful at the same time. If she hadn’t already been swooning over him, that would have done it.

Lenore was feeling pretty scared and hopeful herself. It was a new feeling but, surprisingly, not an entirely uncomfortable one.

“Oh, sure, yeah, totally,” Lenore blurted. She mentally cursed herself for her usual urge to just fill silence. H.G. didn’t really seem to mind silence or pauses in conversations. That was weird but nice too. So she forced herself to pause for just a beat or two before she continued. “Yeah. I’d really like that.”

So now she had to find a way to actually finish the book without Oscar and her other friends interfering…

***

Edgar wasn’t going to be a problem. He was always holed up in his study or swooning over Annabel - the dork - so it was fairly easy to stay out of his way unless she really wanted to annoy him. Which was frequently, but now that was beside the point.

Oscar was definitely going to be trickier. He already knew about the “maaaaaan” in Lenore’s life and was a notorious gossip. Oscar came over fairly regularly to hang out with Edgar and often brought mutual friends along. Lenore knew that she could make up an excuse or two so she could avoid them all and devote time to reading.

The thing was, though, Lenore found she really didn’t care. The book was just so absorbing that after a long day of taking selfies she just wanted to curl up in the big armchair in her room and get back to where she’d left off. She was zooming through it at a pretty good pace because she wanted to see H.G. again. They’d tentatively set a date - _a date!_ Lenore’s inner Oscar voice declared - for the following Thursday afternoon. A nice, safe, neutral time. Not a Friday night at the local restaurant everyone loved, and _certainly_ not a gathering at Edgar’s place. Shudder.

Lenore felt a tad bit guilty about not telling Annabel the whole truth about the matter...but she would explain. Later. When there was something worth explaining. No use in getting everyone all excited only to have it not work out. Again. 

(She was pretty certain they had not forgiven her for the mess with Guy but that is so totally in the past at this point.)

She did, at least, trust Annabel enough to distract Edgar and Oscar. 

Which came in handy when Oscar flounced his way into her room as he usually did and tried to pry for more information. Things like “did you call your maaaaaaan yet” and “my dear please DO use protection!” (Most. Awkward. Moment. Ever.)

Annabel swooped and mentioned to Oscar that Edgar wanted to have a party and she just didn’t know what to wear. Or what Edgar should wear. And off Oscar went, the thought of playing dress up with the pair too much to pass up.

Which left Lenore to her peace and quiet and her book. Ignoring the protests from Edgar down the hall (“Oscar I do not NEED color in my wardrobe. Black is fine.”) she started to read. Soon she had lost herself in the story once more.

Thursday couldn’t come soon enough.

***

Lenore was sure she’d heard him correctly. They would meet at the Sugar Bowl. He’d be in the corner, wearing a vest and a purple bowtie. Well, Lenore was at the Sugar Bowl and there was no sign of him, much less anyone wearing a purple bowtie. She kept fidgeting and earnestly checking her phone. She told herself she’d give him just five more minutes. Okay, then ten. Maybe 15. Surely he was busy at the bookstore...right?

She sighed and decided to order a chai latte just so she wouldn’t be loitering without paying for something. That’s when her phone buzzed. It was a text from H.G.: _Where are you?_ Lenore stifled the urge to make a snarky reply. Instead she typed out, _At the Sugar Bowl. Where are you?_

 _Oh dear_ was his response. _I think we may have miscommunicated. I am at the Sugar Bowl that is close to my bookstore._

Lenore’s heart flipped. She was at the Sugar Bowl that was completely on the other side of town. It would take forever to get all the way over there. _Sorry sorry sorry_ , she typed frantically, grabbing her latte and scrambling out the door. She ran to her car and sped off...if she hit the lights correctly she could make it there in less than 10 minutes. 

She didn’t notice her phone buzz with a new text message from H.G.

***

Traffic, Lenore realized, hated her today. It took her twice as long to get to the other side of town. And then with it being the ‘trendy’ side of town it took her forever to find parking.

She was out of breath and quite annoyed with the world when she burst into Sugar Bowl, frantically scanning the crowd gathered for H.G. 

He wasn’t there. Lenore wondered if the universe truly hated her today.

Her phone buzzed from her purse. And then again. And again.

Lenore fished for it and saw that H.G. was calling. Taking a deep breath, she answered.

“H.G.?”

“Hello...um...are you still at the other Sugar Bowl? You see I left the one near my shop as soon as I realized we had gone to different locations and came here but I don’t see you here either and if you really would rather not…”

Lenore started laughing...maybe a bit too loudly and hysterically since she got several annoyed glances from the other patrons at the shop. “We are like. So lame.” 

“Um...are you here then? Or…”

“No,” Lenore took a deep breath to try to calm her laughter. “I’m at the one by your shop.”

She started giggling uncontrollably again.

“Oh dear.” Lenore could hear the amusement in H.G.’s voice. _At least he’s amused and not annoyed…_ she thought to herself.

“Okay. You stay there. I’ll come back to that side of town. And like...promise you won’t disappear in the meantime. I have been dying to talk to someone about this book and literally the only other person who knows anything about it is Edgar and I. Would. Rather. Die.”

“Well then it’s a good thing I brought my copy. I’ll be in the back corner with my book and my tea awaiting your arrival.”

Still laughing, Lenore hung up her phone and walked out of the shop, probably much to the relief of everyone else there.

***

Lenore spotted H.G. immediately upon entering the shop for a second time. He was sitting exactly where he said he would be, and was engrossed in the book.

So engrossed that he didn’t even notice Lenore until she tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump. 

“Oh. Um. Lenore. I um...sorry I didn’t see you come in...I was....well...I seem to have lost myself in the book.” He held up the book showing several chapters of progress.

“I totally know the feeling. I have missed like...so many texts and stuff because I was reading this book. My social presence has taken a serious nosedive.” Seeing a confused and concerned look on H.G.’s face she waved it away. “Which is like, totally fine. The world can’t love me if I’m always there. Let them dream.”

“I see you also enjoy cultivating mystique,” she continued airily. She was super proud of herself for using the kind of word Edgar would. See, she did pay attention. Sometimes.

Now he was smirking, which made Lenore relieved. “I do. So!” he said abruptly. “Come sit. I want to hear all about what you thought.”

“So like...don’t take this the wrong way but I totally thought I would hate the book. Books just...aren’t usually my thing. Too boring, too many words...just too blah.” She was vaguely aware that she was rambling, but also realized that for once, she didn’t care. H.G. was actually listening and nodding along as she went. “So like this book...I started it and then all of a sudden hours had gone by and I had read so many chapters and I hadn’t even realized it. And that’s...not a thing I’m used to. Like at all. And I realized that any time I wasn’t doing something I would rather be reading this than scrolling through Instagram for the fifth time in a row. And then I finished it and I couldn’t wait to talk to you about it so I have been like...dying for the past few days because no one else gets it. I mean not like...literally dying. But you get what I mean. So yeah...I guess you could say that I....liked it?” She cringed. Like was such a small word for what the book actually made her feel. 

H.G. chuckled. “Well I will take that. Perhaps next time I’ll give you more than one book so that you might have something to occupy your mind while you wait to fill me in on how you feel about the book.”

Lenore’s heart did a little jump. Next time? And with more books? Plus like...who would have thought that she of all people would be swooning over literature.

(Somewhere in the back of her mind she could just hear Oscar making fun of her. She would never live this down.)

(She also didn’t care.)

“I would like, totally love that.” Lenore smiled at the delighted grin that came across H.G.’s face. “But anyways...enough of me rambling. Tell me why you love this book so much.”

She was delighted at his look of surprise. She could tell that no one had asked him that before. (Lenore also got the impression that he didn’t really talk to anyone much. She could totally fix that by introducing him to her friend group...later. They needed to see this thing through first.)

“Oh.” He sighed deeply. “I love the world building. You just get so absorbed in what the author is trying to say. There are so many realistic turns of phrase that the characters could even be your friends. I’ve found many such friends by working in this book shop.” H.G. smiled. “And then I met you, of course. I’d like to be friends, Lenore.”

Friends. Ok. She could work with that. For now. Especially since there was an extra little buzz of something in the air that she totally wasn’t imagining.

“So! Finish your latte. I’ve got lots more books to recommend to you.”

Lenore smiled. Friends for now. They could work on that.

***

In the weeks that followed, Lenore became a regular at H.G.’s shop. He joked with her that if she was just going to borrow books all the time, then why doesn’t she just get a library card.

(She always joked back something about liking the company more here, or that he’d be bored without her. Really whatever it took to make him smile.) 

(And _oh_ , his smile.)

She had been spending more and more time at the shop...sometimes staying while H.G. closed the shop off talking about the latest book he had recommended which then usually turned into a trip next door for coffee. They talked about the books and she’d even convinced him to get an Instagram account so she was spending time teaching him that you have to have an Aesthetic™. 

After a month or so had passed, Lenore was starting to feel restless. 

This wouldn’t be such a bad thing, except Oscar had realized this fact.

And Oscar, being Oscar, was not allowing her to live it down.

“Oh but Lenoreeeee you have to use your words.” Oscar waggled his eyebrows at her. “Tell him how he makes you feeeeel. And how he makes you swooooooon.”

“Oscar!” Lenore hissed. “Stop it! People are staring.”

They were out for drinks for the first time since Lenore had started spending most nights at the bookshop with H.G. Lenore felt slightly guilty about ignoring Oscar, but now that he was making a spectacle of things, she wasn’t so sure she felt that way anymore.

Oscar sighed dramatically. “Fineeeee. But seriously, my dear, you have to actually tell him how you feel. He’s not a mind reader, for goodness sakes.”

Lenore grimaced. Talking about feelings was so not her thing. “But like. Hasn’t he like...figured it out yet? I’m there all the time. I gave up precious instagram selfie time for him!” 

(She had. There was a _perfect_ sunset a few nights ago she had ignored so that she could listen to H.G. talk about why he loved the current book she was reading.)

“Oh you _do_ have it bad, don’t you?” 

Lenore sighed and buried her face in her hands in embarrassment. “Ughhhh. Please don’t tell Edgar. I will never live this down.”

“Oh my dear, it will be our secret.” Oscar whispered. “But…” he wagged a finger at her face, causing her to roll her eyes “Only if you promise that you’ll talk to him. And then make time for drinks at least once every few weeks. I will, of course, need all of your _juuuuuuuuicy_ details.” 

“Oh my god, fine. I’ll talk to him. Now, tell me about this guy you saw at the club when I ‘abandoned’ you.” Lenore changed the subject quickly, and let Oscar jump into his tirade.

She was only half listening to Oscar, but enough that she knew when to nod her head and exclaim in outrage at his trist. Her thoughts were elsewhere. She was meeting H.G. tomorrow after work...and Lenore Poe was not one to break a promise.

(Especially with the threat of Oscar telling Edgar.)

***

Lenore found herself pacing the aisles of the bookstore more than usual the next night. It was a particularly busy night at the shop, so H.G. hadn’t noticed her nervous pacing yet. Which fine with her, just fine.

“Get it together, Poe. You’re better than this,” she hissed to herself under her breath.

“Better than what?”

Lenore turned around and came face to face with H.G. who had appeared in the aisle behind her with his arms full of books to restock.

She took a deep breath to steady herself. This wasn’t a moment to zoom through her words like she usually did. He seemed to recognize that she was in some sort of mood because he set the books down and approached her carefully.

“Is everything okay?”

“Well, sort of,” Lenore admitted. “I really like hanging out with you. Like, a lot. And that’s the part that’s not really okay because...I want to spend more time with you but not really in a ‘just friends’ sort of way. If that makes sense.”

She held her breath and waited for his response. He seemed to be considering what she was saying because he didn’t say anything for what felt like forever.

“Oh my dear Lenore...I would like nothing more.” A smile crept across his face, soft and inviting. Lenore felt her stomach do a flip-flop at it.

“Okay...um… that’s...that’s cool.” She cringed at her words. She’d spent hours building up the first part that she hadn’t actually thought about how she’d respond once she had her answer. 

H.G chuckled. “I think that perhaps tonight we can talk more about this?” His eyebrow quirked upward in a teasing manner and Lenore giggled.

“That sounds like a date. And um…” 

Before Lenore could continue a customer came up and tapped H.G. on the shoulder to ask a question. He shot an apologetic look at Lenore and went off to help, leaving Lenore in the aisle, alone with her thoughts once more.

“Well that was smooth, Poe.” She muttered under her breath. But despite that, she was still smiling. 

She pulled out her phone to check the time. 7:30. She sighed. Still a half an hour to go before closing. 

It could not come soon enough.

***

The last half an hour had dragged on what felt like forever. Lenore found herself anxiously wandering through the shop waiting for the time to pass. She had to stop herself from screaming when a customer walked in at 7:55 with a very specific and complicated request.

But then finally the last customer was gone, and H.G. was locking the door. Lenore had taken up her usual post of leaning against the counter while H.G. finished his closing tasks for the day.

She loved how comfortable he was with it. H.G. always got completely absorbed in bustling around and cleaning up the books, dusting the shelves, and making sure all the displays were in order.

Now, though, there was an air of suspense.

“Ready to go?”

His question startled Lenore out of her reverie. She looked up at H.G. When had he gotten so...close? He smelled like books and soap. From this distance she could see how extra cute his dimple was.

“Yeah, I’m ready.”

And with that he kissed her.


End file.
